On Animated Cartoon Film Translation From The Perspective Of Relevance Theory

This thesis aims to discuss the translation of an American animated film Kung Fu Panda from the perspective of Relevance Theory and to further show Relevance Theory's influence and interpretation on cartoon film translation.In 1986, Sperber and Wilson jointly brought the Relevance Theory to analyze cognition and communication in the field of Pragmatics. Relevance theory holds that if one person speaks to other people, he/she may have an informative intention, which is to manifest some assumptions to others. Essentially, the assumptions of the former must be relevant enough to get the latter's attention. With this effort, the assumptions of the hearer can be well deserved. Relevance Theory also argues that the ultimate aim of communication is to get the optimal relevance. In order to realize optimal relevance, the listener should go through a process of assumption and he also needs more or less processing efforts to make the communication successful. Based on this pragmatic achievement, Gutt put forward the Relevance Theoretical translation theory, which broadens the application of Relevance Theory to the translation field. With the guidance of Relevance Theory, Gutt brought out two translation methods: direct translation and indirect translation. The former requires the translator to show the communication clues of the original text or utterance while the latter demands the translator to convey the implicated meaning of the original communication form. In the translation of film, including animated film, Relevance Theory is also of much importance.Applying Relevance Theory to film translation, especially to a specific type of film, is a comparatively new research area. This thesis emphasizes on the animated film translation with Kung Fu Panda as an example. The film held its worldwide premiere at the 61st Cannes Film Festival, where it received massive and sustained applause at the end of the film's screening. Since its release, Kung Fu Panda has received very positive and favorable reviews from critics. Kung Fu Panda has also been well-received in China. However, because of the barrier of foreign language, the Chinese viewers have to enjoy this film on the basis of pictures and the translated captions, which poses a great challenge to the translator. As the subtitle translation is influential, checking its validity and fidelity in accordance with Relevance Theory is quite significant. With the help of Relevance Theory, we can ensure the successful communication between the original producer of the film and the target language viewers. This thesis discusses the successful and unsuccessful translations in Kung Fu Panda from the perspective of Relevance Theory and concludes the suitability of direct translation and indirect translation.